Could This Kid Be the Sea God's Illegitimate Son?

Before she even arrived, a vast, abyss-like pressure had already blanketed all of Sea Maiden Square.

Everyone in the square felt the suffocating oppression. Those with lower cultivation levels had their legs go weak and nearly collapsed to their knees.

Even the Sea Witch Douluo's expression turned grave. She hurriedly turned around, dropped to one knee, and respectfully lowered her head.

"Welcome, High Priestess!"

As the blue light faded, a breathtakingly beautiful figure appeared at the center of the square.

Bo Saixi, High Priestess of Sea God Island, the Sea God Douluo, a Peerless Douluo-level powerhouse.

She wore a long crimson robe, its hem snapping in the sea breeze. Her deep blue hair, like rolling waves, fell to her waist. Her features were as exquisite as an artwork personally carved by the Sea God, and the aura around her seemed to lower the temperature of the entire square by several degrees.

Bo Saixi's gaze passed over the crowd kneeling on the ground and landed directly on the chubby little figure in a penguin onesie at the center of the square.

Then she saw the gleaming golden trident mark on Jiang Lan's forehead.

Bo Saixi's pupils suddenly contracted.

It was him.

It really was him.

Six years ago, the Sea God had come to her in a dream and told her that there was a child she needed to save.

At the time, she had thought some chosen child had descended into the world, that the Sea God's successor had finally appeared. She had been so excited that she did not sleep all night, then rushed to the shore at dawn the next morning according to the dream's guidance.

And then she saw a baby.

A baby lying in a giant seashell, wrapped in an unknown beast hide, with a strand of kelp he had apparently pulled from somewhere clenched between his lips.

When the baby saw her arrive, he pulled the kelp from his mouth, grinned at her, and uttered the first syllable of his life—

"Little Guga."

Bo Saixi had frozen on the spot.

She had lived for so many years and seen quite a few babies, but a newborn who could say "Little Guga" was truly a first.

After that, she brought the baby back to Sea God Palace and began her life of raising a child.

Six years.

A full six years.

She had raised this Little Guga from infancy, teaching him how to walk, how to speak, how to recognize sea soul beasts. She had watched him grow from a tiny bundle into the chubby little thing now running all over the place in a penguin onesie.

Over those six years, Bo Saixi had questioned Jiang Lan's identity countless times.

First was his physique.

Ever since he learned to walk, this kid had displayed a baffling level of destructive power.

Other children were still learning to walk at one year old. At one, he could already pry open shells with his bare hands to take the pearls inside.

Other children played in the sand at three. At three, he had already started diving into the sea to catch fish.

Other children had only begun learning about soul masters at five. At five, he could carry a great white shark with three hundred years of cultivation and run all over the island.

Was this fucking normal for a child?

Then there was his verbal tic.

No one knew where he had picked it up, but he always liked to add "Little Guga" to the end of his sentences.

At first, Bo Saixi had tried correcting Jiang Lan, but she later discovered that he simply could not be changed, so she gave up.

Now everyone on Sea God Island knew that the High Priestess had raised a child whose catchphrase was "Little Guga."

Finally, and most importantly to Bo Saixi, the child looked far too much like the Sea God.

Not in terms of physical appearance, but in spirit and bearing.

Especially those eyes—the occasional careless indifference they revealed toward all things in the world was practically identical to the Sea God's.

Bo Saixi had once silently made a list in her heart, writing down all the evidence that Jiang Lan might be the Sea God's illegitimate son.

Now, another item had been added to that list: the Sea God's Nine Trials.

A six-year-old who had triggered the Sea God's Nine Trials the moment his martial soul awakened?

What kind of joke was that?

Even Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen had not been this absurd back then, had they?

Unless...

Unless this kid had been the Sea God's backup plan all along, a successor cultivated from the Sea God's own bloodline!

The more Bo Saixi thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

The Sea God must have grown tired of being a god and wanted to find a successor so he could run off himself. But he had not felt safe passing his divine position to an outsider, so he had simply left an illegitimate son on Sea God Island. Once the child grew up, he could toss the divine position to him and pat his ass on the way out.

The logic formed a perfect closed loop.

The way Bo Saixi looked at Jiang Lan changed instantly.

Her gaze shifted from looking at her own child to looking at her future boss.

"High Priestess?" The Sea Witch Douluo was still kneeling on the ground. She cautiously raised her head and glanced at Bo Saixi. "You..."

Bo Saixi came back to herself, drew a deep breath, and resumed the dignified expression befitting the High Priestess.

She slowly walked over to Jiang Lan and looked down at the chubby little figure, who was not even as tall as her leg.

Jiang Lan tilted his head up. The hood of his penguin onesie slipped down again, and while tugging at it with one hand, he called out to Bo Saixi, "Mama Bo Saixi! Little Guga!"

Bo Saixi's eye twitched.

Mama.

Ever since the child had learned to speak, he had called her Mama. She had corrected him countless times and told him to call her High Priestess or big sister, but this brat simply refused to change.

Bo Saixi crouched down, reached out to pinch Jiang Lan's plump cheeks, and pulled them apart.

"How many times have I told you? Call me big sister."

Jiang Lan's mouth was pulled out of shape, and he mumbled, "Ugu... but you've raised me for six years, guga."

"Even so—call—me—big—sister!" Bo Saixi enunciated each word, increasing the force in her hands.

The crowd kneeling throughout the square collectively turned to stone at the sight.

The Sea God Island High Priestess, usually cold and majestic, capable of making a Titled Douluo kneel and tremble with a single glance, was now squatting on the ground and arguing with a six-year-old child over how he addressed her.

The Sea Witch Douluo knelt on the ground with her head lowered. She did not dare look, nor did she dare laugh, but her shoulders shook wildly.

Bo Saixi finally released Jiang Lan's cheeks, stood up, and resumed the aura befitting the High Priestess.

She looked around. Wherever her gaze fell, everyone lowered their heads even further.

"No one is to spread word of what happened today."

"Anyone who does will be expelled from Sea God Island."

Her voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable pressure.

Everyone answered in unison, not daring even to breathe too loudly.

Only then did Bo Saixi nod in satisfaction. Then she grabbed Jiang Lan by the back of his collar and lifted him up like a baby chick.

"Let's go. We're going home."

"Hey, hey, hey, Little Guga! I can walk by myself, Little Guga!"

Jiang Lan kicked his two short legs in midair. The hood of his penguin onesie completely covered his head, making him look like a penguin plushie being carried away.

Bo Saixi ignored his protests entirely and carried him toward Sea God Palace.

The Sea Witch Douluo remained kneeling where she was, watching the crimson streak vanish beyond the horizon before slowly rising to her feet.

She turned to look at the white-haired elder responsible for the awakening ceremony.